On the Striated FiekUVren. 269 



XI. — Observations an the Striated Field-Wren (Calamanthus 

 fuliginosus). By H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S., M.R.A.O.U., 

 Fellow of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 



The Field-Wren of Tasmania is plentiful on the swampy tus- 

 socky plains near the sea-beach of the north-west coast of the 

 Island where I reside, and its sweet little strain is one of the 

 most familiar sounds of winter and spring ; it is, indeed, one of 

 our most persistent songsters, and there are very few months 

 of the year when it may not be heard. Formerly considered 

 to be identical with the Victorian form of the same species, 

 it has now been separated. In Mathews' ' Hand- List of the 

 Birds of Australasia,' issued as a supplement to ' The Emu,* 

 1908, our species retains the title '^ fiiUginosus," while that 

 of Victoria (Australia) is distinguished as '' albiloriij." As 

 to vernacular names, our bird has been sometimes called 

 the Bush-Warbler, from its habit of uttering its ditty from 

 the top of a " Button-Rush^' or other swamp-growth, but 

 " Striated Field-Wren " is now the recognised term. The 

 boys of North Tasmania have bestowed upon it the not 

 inapt epithet of " Mud-Lark," expressive of its fondness 

 for frequenting wet, swamj^y land, and its vocal ability. 



The upper plumage is of a pleasing olive-brown, distinctly 

 streaked with black, while the under side is yellowish, streaked 

 in the same way ; there is a whitish line over the eye. The 

 tail is usually carried erect, but I have noticed that this bird 

 will often sing with the rectrices depressed until they are in a 

 line with tlie body ; on being aj)proached, however, the tail 

 will be elevated and the body moved from side to side in an 

 excited manner, the songster often keeping its position and 

 continuing the strain till the intruder is within two or three 

 yards, when it will drop into the herbage at the foot of its 

 perch and disappear. The song is usually uttered from the 

 summit of a piece of scrub, such as young swamp tea- 

 tree (Melaleuca), or of a large tussock like the "button- 

 rush" (Gi/innoschoenus), which grows on swampy flats ; often 

 the top of a post in a rail-fence forms the perch. The song 



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